Bumb A$$ Award

[kj5ix]

There just has to be an Award for Dumb,,,,,,

 

Let me set this up a little.

 

I just finished converting my 01 RSV to a Trike, and did a total repaint, which means that I had it down to the frame, and chassis for a month. OK did all of the thought needed maintenance including breaking the Oil Pan ( there has to be an Award for that too,, ) You know Plugs, filters air and fuel check wiring, and add wireing for things I added. Etc: Etc... I read the Tech info section or most of it, and have the manuals all downloaded ( great stuff here ) I noticed that the Ignition Switch connector has the dreaded HOT Spot on one wire. Checked it and re crimped it and put dilectric grease on it. Good to go..... Note here on the hot spot: Here in the Toolies I couldn't find a connector to replace it with, so fixed on it. But it is always in the back of my mind. We have been out on several trips 2- 300 miles here and there, and went camping last week end at one of the rallies that we normally attend.. All is well.

 

Getting ready to head out to the Thunder in the Heart of Texas Rally this morning, and rid into town for gas, and work till 3 or so and hopefully head out. Get gas, and hop on to head on in to the computer shop, and What to my surprise,,,, Lights,Radio,every thing, but GoGo,,,Yepp ya got it Want do any thing......... OK I think Crap it happened to me this time, but better here in town than out on the road, but still 7 miles from home, and an easy way to work on it. OK I thinks,, maybe it will start if I get it going down the hill to the hi-way,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, NOPE ,,,,,NADA

 

OK now I am in the middle of the road, and Zip I get a couple of guys to help me get the Trike to the side of the road, and I am thinking,,Ain't this the pits!!!! I have a trailer for just this situation for myself and others, BUT it is too narrow for the RSV Hannigan Trike,,,,, Double Crap!!! All right, I think I know what I need to do that will get me going and back to the house ( Maybe if I remember right from the articles )

 

Just pull the tank and jumper the connection that should do it.... just like adding the switch right,,, should work.

 

Here I am on the side of the road with limited stock tool kit, and taking a fresh filled up full gas tank off..................... on the side of the road,,,,,,

 

OK I have the seat, gas tank, a few bolts and stuff lying on the shoulder of the road, and a piece of wire trying to jumper the connection. Trying every combinatrion I can see ( both of them,, only two wires ) Nuttin still dead as a Stump.... and I am drawing a little of a crowd a couple of Goat Ropers, a truck driver, and a Sheriff . Now I am thinking I have to get it back to the shop some how. One of the guys there said he had a car hauler with a ramp and would go get it,,, Real nice of him, and headed off to get it. SAVED Sort of, but still stuck it want start still. I start putting it all back together to make it easier to load on a trailer, when he gets back. What a revolting development this is. I get it all back to gather, and as I was putting the rubber cover back on the tank tab on the right side I reached up to grab the handle bar to stand back up, and heard a CLICK!!!!!!!

 

 

Yepp you guessed it.... I had hit the KILL Switch when I got on to leave the gas station by accident, and didn't know it.............

 

An hour and a half taking it apart, and messing with this and that, and putting it back together ON the side of the road,,,,,,,,, and it was the darn Kill Switch...

 

 

Where's my sign!!!!!!!

 

 

Now can the kill switch be disabled so this can't happen again,,,,

 

 

At least I know you can take a Venture apart on the side of the road... If you just have to...

[LilBeaver]

Glad it turned out to be something simple. And yes, having the know how to field strip tweety there, is good reassurance - just in case it would be necessary.

 

Don't worry, I am sure that are ARE in-fact, the ONLY ONE to have ever made such a mistake... By the way, I've got some ocean front property in Utah available for purchase and 70 Quadrillion dollars that can be yours if you help me get it out of my Nigerian bank account.

[royalstarjac]

That's a riot!

I don't think many would own up to a bone head move like that.

I know i wouldn't!

[friesman]

I resemble that post........but I am lucky that i didnt have the knowledge to strip the bike down like you did......whew!

 

 

Brian:confused24:

[massey130]

luckily enough, I flipped my kill switch while driving when i moved my hand to a more comfortable position. my pucker factor went ski hi. I learned right then and there that the kill switch is an item to watch. i have made it a habit to use it to kill the bike regularly so I am reminded to turn it to "on".

[Yammer Dan]

Makes me remember the time i stopped at the Front Gate of the Prison to show mine off a little. Tore it down in the middle of the gate with everybody watching. When I found it was kill switch with wires and plastic scattered every where I told the office giving me a hand "You tell Anybody I'm going to Kill you" Til this day the convicts talk about how good I am. Tore that thing right in the middle of the road and fixed it!!

[CaptainJoe]

That would NEVER happen to me....

 

Ya know why?

 

Cause I bumped that Blame thing every time I was on the bike for the first coupla weeks. It sticks out to far and was getting caught on my glove.......even had it stop on me at a red light...

 

So.............Now......... I just assume its the kill switch, if it doesn't start or quits running

[Seaking]

You're saying you tore the bike apart because you didn't notice the red switch in the off position? I know *I* have done some D.A. stunts before but not that one.. I think it's because I actually use the red switch to turn off the bike on a regular basis.. I either use the kick stand, the key and / or the kill switch to test them all out to make sure they all work..

 

The other month when I was 600 miles away from home and the bike died at the gas station, I thought, silly me I left the kill switch to the off position but no.. oh oh.. In my case it was a loose ground wire off the battery, of all things.. tightened it up and never had a problem since then (knock wood)..

 

So, after all that, said and done, how's the trike working out for you? Good ride?

 

Thanks for sharing the story, its always best to learn from other people's mistakes before having to learn them yourself the hard way.. No worries, apparently a lot of people are learning off of me on a regular basis

[kj5ix]

You're saying you tore the bike apart because you didn't notice the red switch in the off position? Yepp: I sure did!!! If you don't use it, and have no need for it, one doesn't really notice it,,:confused24:I know *I* have done some D.A. stunts before but not that one.. I think it's because I actually use the red switch to turn off the bike on a regular basis.. I either use the kick stand, the key and / or the kill switch to test them all out to make sure they all work..

 

The other month when I was 600 miles away from home and the bike died at the gas station, I thought, silly me I left the kill switch to the off position but no.. oh oh.. In my case it was a loose ground wire off the battery, of all things.. tightened it up and never had a problem since then (knock wood)..

 

So, after all that, said and done, how's the trike working out for you? Good ride? Great Ride it is a wonderful ride, and a little different than the GL1800, but OK. There is a little lack of haullin power when I pull the camper though,,MPG down to 26.

 

Thanks for sharing the story, its always best to learn from other people's mistakes before having to learn them yourself the hard way.. No worries, apparently a lot of people are learning off of me on a regular basis

 

My next adventure will be to bypass that pesky switch..........

[buddy]

Yep been there done that - kill switch

But I looked at the kill switch first! yep its off hit the switch it starts right up.

Yep it pays to look first:cool17: think later:think:

[top]

When you get your sign.....just copy and send to me......did that once.......spent 30 min trying to figure out what it was....we were on a trip.....buddy had to turn around to find me...no communication......he looks at it and tells me why don't you just flip this switch and it will probably fix itself.......got my sign.....

[KarlS]

Had been working on my bike the night before so the next morning I jump on it to leave and NOTHING. Worked on the fool thing for 2 hours tracing back what I worked on the night before. AFTER 2 hours I looked up and noticed the green neutral light wasn't on. Yep, all that was wrong is that it was in gear..

[massey130]

Had been working on my bike the night before so the next morning I jump on it to leave and NOTHING. Worked on the fool thing for 2 hours tracing back what I worked on the night before. AFTER 2 hours I looked up and noticed the green neutral light wasn't on. Yep, all that was wrong is that it was in gear..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DOH!!

 

I did have to laugh at my self once when I was in gear just to pull ahead out of the garage. slipped the kickstand down and it died. what the heck i thought. then i figured it out - DOH!

 

this was the early days of owning the RSV.

[Seaking]

I'm sorry guys, but what a bunch of morons.. seriously.. like you mean to tell me you guys never ever think of looking or touching that BIG BRIGHT RED switch that is so easy to see and notice.. wow..

 

Sorry to berate you guys but I have to go pick up my bike now, I made the mistake of coming to a stop in my buddy's driveway and then got off the bike after a short conversation with him.. only to have the bike fall over because some "idiot" who does notice red switches, forgot to put his erhm kick stand down while conversing with his buddy..

 

Anyone else do that one? lol Basically yeah, I can see how some people can forget the red switch while others forget the kick stand.. (red faced)

 

You know what's fun about these stoppid moronic silly mistakes? Luckily we only do them the ONE time.. either shame, embarrassment or ridicule prevents us from repeating the same silly mistake

 

Anyone else have a 'shameful' moment to share? Anyone? While we are here, might as well lol

 

Though I never forget red switches, I do tend to forget other things.. such as this mag dish I left on my front fender after swapping out windshields and went on a long day ride.. gotta love strong magnets..

 

Cheers

Edited September 10, 2010 by Seaking

[BuckShot]

My next adventure will be to bypass that pesky switch..........

 

I wouldn't worry about the switch--next time your going to think ,oh sh**, what now and then remember to check to kill switch.

[boominup]

Came to a stop while pulling out of a CVS parking lot and when I put my foot down...nothing there! I was right over a water trough and my feet wouldn't touch the ground. Down she went to the right...picked it up like they show in the articles and after forgetting to drop the kickstand down first...down she went on the opposite side!! DUMB A$$???? I still have nightmares about that. Thank God it was with my 1st Gen Royale and not this one!

[Freebird]

I did the kickstand once myself. After a hard day of about 450 miles in steady rain, I was tired, wet, hungry and ready to call it a day. My wife and I pulled in to get gas just before getting to a hotel for the night. I pulled up to the pump and she got off. I then got off and started following her into the store. I heard a crash and looked around to see my bike laying on it's side. How DARE that woman not put the kickstand down when we stopped.

[kj5ix]

Seems like it runs in the family,,,

 

Don it seems that there truly should be a DA Award

[Freebird]

Maybe...but some folks wouldn't have enough room besides their names for the number of them that they would get.

[kj5ix]

That is for sure, I think I probably got 10 just for the Oil Pan thing,,,??

[Woody]

Well at least you trailer your bike 400 miles and realize your helmets where at home.

[yamadawg]

Thank you for sharing that experience! I, too, have jumped to action and started tearing everything down to only find that the kill switch was off. Mine was long ago on an old 650 Special, but was rather humbling at the time. My most recent "trick" was before we got the RSV and we had the VR loaded and ready to go for our first ride of the spring three years ago. I started off, a little uphill with the wheel turned to the left. I gave it a little gas, then let off, and I guess I just lost my mind. I don't know. It backed up, and we looked like the guy on Laugh-In with the raincoat riding the tricycle. We just fell over in the driveway. Dressed to ride and we made it -3 feet. My wife was laying on her mic cord and thought she could not raise her head. It seems funny now, but then... Not so much. I loved the crashbars on the 1st Gens... mine got quite a workout.

[t_hole]

Was riding my bike back to work from lunch when it started sputtering and finally died out on me. Had been running it down to see how far I could get on a tank when I finally found out. Sitting on the side of the road staring at the bike just being pi$$ed at my own stupidity when I noticed the petcock was still pointing down. Flipped it up to reserve and she fired right up.

[coy55boy]

I've never wasted time trouble shooting a kill switch...but, I have wasted money buying parts after a side stand malfunction.

 

The first time was my first bike (a little Honda CB360T). I had just purchased the bike and drove it around the parking lot. I pulled up to the store front and parked it. Only I didn't have the side stand fully extended. I walked around to the right side and reached over to remove the key. Suddenly, I'm standing there holding the key and the bike is laying on it's side. So, before I drove it off the lot, I had to go inside to buy new turn signals.

 

The second time, it happened the day after I bought it (Yamaha Virago 750). I had gone to a girl's house to show it off and had it parked on the sidewalk in front. I was quite confident that the stand was locked since I had been leaning against the bike while we talked. After a bit, I moved away from the bike to sit next to the girl on her steps. And I watched in horror as the bike slowly, slowly began to topple over. Yup, another trip to the dealer for turn signals, mirror and clutch lever. Yup, got my sign.

 

Now, I've got this new (well, new to me anyway) '83 Venture Royale with only 3700 miles on her and I've been thinking how to avoid this in the future and I've come up with a plan. I'm going to get a big piece of carpet and invite some friends to help me gently lower her to her side. I figure that once that's out of the way, I should be good to go!

[Rocket]

I resemble that post........but I am lucky that i didnt have the knowledge to strip the bike down like you did......whew!

 

 

Brian:confused24:

 

I'm also too far away, to come at a moments notice, to fix it as well........